Solar Industry to grow to $155 billion in 2018; U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium Aims to help make CIGS thin films a significant part of that solar success

Point Roberts, WA - July 25, 2013 (Investorideas.com renewable energy stocks newswire) Investorideas.com, an investor research portal specializing in investing ideas in leading sectors including renewable energy stocks, reports on the future of the solar sector and in particular, CIGS solar and the related solar stocks.

Lux Research says the solar photovoltaic (PV) market is poised to rise from the ashes of its 2011 crisis to grow to $155 billion in 2018, as market forces engineer a turnaround to a healthy 10.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR.
They went on to say, "In the most likely scenario, the PV market will grow at a modest clip to 35 GW in 2013 before rapidly ramping up to 61.7 GW in 2018."
The U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium (PVMC) recently said in a press release, "Photovoltaics and especially thin-film PV are again at a tipping point," said Larry Kazmerski, co-chair of the U.S. CIGS PV Roadmap. "We want PV to be a substantial part of the world's energy portfolio and our efforts with this roadmap are aimed to help make CIGS thin films a significant part of that solar success."
CIGS solar stocks to watch include XsunX , Inc. (OTCQB: XSNX) , Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTI), Solar Frontier subsidiary of Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. (TYO: 5002) and TSMC Solar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Inc. (NYSE:TSM).
XsunX , Inc. (OTCQB: XSNX) closed up over 21% on just over 4 Million shares as of the close on Wednesday, gaining some of the ground it had lost in recent sessions. XsunX says its CIGSolar technology focuses on the mass production of thin-film CIGS solar cells utilizing a proprietary multi-area thermal deposition process to minimize processing defects to create highly uniform CIGS films. The manufacturing systems are modular and represent a new breed of CIGS manufacturing technology that can be deployed in various production configurations to produce CIGSolar cells. The potential impact and opportunity is to offer commercially viable replacements to existing incumbent poly-crystalline silicon technology, lowering the overall cost of PV energy.
TSMC Solar said this week that its new target for CIGS module conversion efficiency is now set for 17 percent and utility expansion of 50 percent by 2014. In June the company reported confirmation by TUV SUD that its latest commercial-sized (1.09 m2) CIGS champion module has achieved 15.7% module total area efficiency. The new champion module improves on TSMC Solar's previous 15.1% world record set in January this year. The module was produced using the current manufacturing equipment and materials at the company's manufacturing facility in Taichung, Taiwan. The stock moved up on the day of the new targets announced.
Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTI) said earlier this week it will debut the newest additions to its EnerPlex KickrTM Series as well as introduce an exciting new line of EnerPlexTM products to be showcased at the Outdoor Retailer Summer show in Salt Lake City July 31st through August 3rd. Small enough to be attached to a belt loop yet powerful enough to make sure devices always have a charge, the Kickr line of personal solar chargers is uniquely enabled by the rugged, lightweight and flexible form factor of Ascent's CIGS solar cells.
The stock has made some big moves just over the last month and closed up marginally again on the close of Wednesday's session.
Among Lux Research findings:
U.S., China, Japan, and India will take over where Germany and Italy left off. With an 18% CAGR to 10.8 GW of installations in 2018, the United States will emerge the world's second-largest market. But China will leapfrog it, growing over 15% annually to 12.4 GW in 2018.
Utility-scale installations to grow the fastest; commercial the largest. Utility-scale solar, the smallest segment in 2012 at 8.6 GW, will grow the fastest to 19.9 GW in 2018 as developing markets turn to PV. Globally, commercial applications reign supreme as markets like the U.S. and Japan move to large rooftop installations.
Opportunities abound for cheap IP. Struggling start-ups present opportunities to acquire intellectual property at record low prices. A case in point: Hanergy acquired Miasolé - which in 2012 announced the leading CIGS module efficiency at 15.5% - for only $30 million after investors had pumped $500 million into the firm.
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